CHAMPION

1970's Holiday Gift Card with Pen
(I would place this pen and card from the 1970's. I also have the same holiday cards, from the same pack, but with Quaker State tombstones signs on them instead of Champion. Quaker State stop using the original Tombstones in the 1970's)



CHAMPION Spark Plug Advertising HOLIDAY CARD with PEN R J LOOCK BALTIMORE , MD


This cool little card was a piece that was mailed out around the holidays from R.J. Loock who served Baltimore and surrounding area as the largest automotive parts and POS distributor for nearly 100 years, founded in 1913 and closed on 2001. More information on the distributor Loock and our finds below.

These cool little cards measure 7" x 3" and read Holiday Greetings on the front and inside read, Our Favorite tradition Is Remembering Friends Like You. HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Also inside is an old school Bic type Pen with the Champion Logo on the top and R.J.Loock & Co, 343 N. Gay St. Baltimore, Md on the bottom of the pen. They come with their original envelope, but were sealed and had to be opened to determine if they were Champion or Quaker State, the envelopes flats have some minor tearing form the glue but the card inside is unaffected. I have a few Quaker State ones available in my eBay store, please check them out as well.


These holiday cards and pens would great in any collection, or given as an inexpensive give for the automotive collector who has everything!
 

The pen and card were produced by Tuckersharp. The Tuckersharpe Pen Company was founded in 1952 by Percy Tucker in Richmond, Virginia.

R.J Loock History and Our Pick

These items were sourced from R.J. LOOCK which was a Baltimore Institution when it came to Automobiles. They operated at the same location : 339-345 N Gay st from 1913 until the neighborhood declined and the last heir retired in 2001. They were not your ordinary cookie cutter automotive parts store like you see today. They were parts distributors as well as jobbers for their own LIGHTNIN Parts line as well as for most of the top brands of the day. They sold: Auto supplies, Replacement parts, Garage equipment, Shop equipment, Tires, Tubes, Oil, Grease, Accessories  and they even had a Complete (belt driven) Machine Shop.

This may not sound different from an auto zone except Loock was responsible for placing products such as Champion Spark Plugs, Quaker State and Gates belts (to name a VERY few products) into EVERY private and municipal garage that used them in a 5 state area. long before the internet and trade shows, these guys were road warriors that sold stuff the hard way on a massive scale. As the 22 floors of samples that they left behind will attest... thats right... I said 22 FLOORS of Samples! R.J.Loock tried to sell ANY quality product that they thought had a chance . Of course, as jobbers they were responsible for placing advertising in the businesses that they catered to as well.

We were lucky enough to purchase salvage rights to this little treasure trove almost 15 years ago now, and this is the last of our treasures! There was no working elevator and the buildings were 4 floors tall with a basement ................................. and they NEVER threw ANYTHING of value AWAY! It took us 2 months full time to sort through and we are now coming to the end of what we have found. If you like high quality out of the box advertising as well as MINT  automotive related collectibles, please bookmark us and keep checking back, we keep finding bits and pieces in our storage warehouse. I think you will be in for a treat.

AND

If you are a beginning collector, theres stuff for you too. They had a habit of nailing signs around to cover holes and such so we will be offering those as well, most are gone now, but not all...please check out our store by CLICKING HERE